Boeing clinches $56bn Emirates 777X jet order

Doha, July 9, 2014

Dubai-based Emirates airline has placed a record-breaking order for 150 Boeing 777X jetliners valued at $56 billion at list prices, said the top US plane maker in a statement.

First announced as a commitment at the 2013 Dubai Airshow, the order by the world's largest 777 operator was part of the largest product launch in commercial jetliner history.

The order - a combination of 115 777-9Xs and 35 777-8Xs - also includes purchase rights for an additional 50 airplanes that, if exercised, could increase value to approximately $75 billion at list prices, said Boeing in its statement.

Confirming the massive order, Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said: "With the order for 150 777Xs, Emirates now has 208 Boeing 777s pending delivery, creating and securing jobs across the supply chain."

"Today Emirates operates more than one in every 10 Boeing 777s aircraft built. We fly 138 of these efficient planes across the globe spanning the US and Latin America in the west, to New Zealand and Japan in the East. The 777X will offer us operational flexibility in terms of range, more passenger capacity and fuel efficiency, and we look forward to inducting them into our fleet from 2020."

The 777X will introduce the latest technologies including the most advanced commercial engine ever - the GE9X by GE Aviation - and an all-new high efficiency composite wing that has a longer span than today's 777, said Boeing in its statement.

The 777X family includes the 777-8X and the 777-9X, both designed to respond to market needs and customer preferences.

The 777-9X will be 12 per cent more fuel efficient than any competing airplane, necessary in today's competitive environment, while the 777-8X is 5 per cent more efficient than its competitor at all ranges while providing for new network opportunities, the statement added.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Ray Conner said: "We are extremely proud to have Emirates, the world's largest 777 operator, continue its long-standing partnership with us by becoming the largest launch customer for the 777X."

"Being a customer-driven product, I'm confident the 777X - with its new engines and all-new composite wing design - will bring superior value in terms of performance, efficiency and reliability to Emirates and our other launch customers," he stated.

According to him, the design of the 777X is underway and production is set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2020. "To date, the 777X has accumulated 300 orders and commitments from six customers worldwide," added Conner.-TradeArabia News Service